Expression Analysis introduces a new technique that is set to
improve the performance of the Affymetrix Genechip. The technique,
which eliminates the effect caused by potentially invariant probes
within a probe set, will provide cost...
German specialty chemicals group, H&R Wasag, increased its
sales and earnings in the first half of the year, helped by its
in-house refinery operations that allow it to anticipate and react
early to changing oil prices.
Santhera Pharmaceuticals and the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company have
established a collaboration to develop and market the first
treatment for Friedreich's Ataxia - a genetic condition that
impacts quality of life substantially...
Researchers have discovered a new tumour defence system that
interferes with the cells that are trying to kill them. These
results raise the possibility of new drug targets for cancer such
as those that may transport free fatty acids...
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has become the second Indian
drugmaker in a matter of days to announce the purchase of a
manufacturing facility in Eastern Europe that will serve as a
springboard for expansion into the broader European...
Diosynth Biotechnology, the contract manufacturing subsidiary of
Dutch chemicals and pharmaceuticals group Akzo Nobel, has won a new
contract to manufacture a cardiovascular imaging agent due to start
Phase III testing in 2006.
Viatris, a German pharmaceutical company specialising in inhaled
medicines and other specialty drugs, has accepted a €750 million
takeover offer from Swedish drugs group Meda.
Cambrex has launched a new system for stripping out bacterial
endotoxin from protein production systems that it claims is
associated with less product waste than current procedures.
Scientists have discovered the genetic pathway responsible for
breast cancer growth, which details how the female hormone
oestrogen causes growth of breast cancer cells. In practical terms,
efforts can now be focused on developing...
US paperboard and plastic packaging company Chesapeake is to
acquire Impaxx Pharmaceutical Packaging Group, which does business
as Arlington Press, for $65 million (€52.5m).
A grant totalling more than $32 million to advance the development
of innovative sequencing lab technologies to reduce the cost of DNA
sequencing and expand the use of genomics in biomedical research
has been awarded by The National...
Peakdale Molecular launches its latest G-Protein Coupled Receptor
(GPCR) library, specifically designed to synthesise and
characterise for screening against aminergic GPCR targets.
According to a new report, the advancement of ADME/Tox technologies
will give rise to considerable time and cost savings as early
screening and increasingly innovative solutions continue to
underline the importance of this technology...
Capsugel, the gelatine capsule manufacturing subsidiary of number
one drugmaker Pfizer, has expanded its equipment product offering
to its pharmaceutical customers by buying the powder micro-dosing
technology Xcelodose from Meridica.
A team of materials scientists and biologists in the US say they
have developed 'smart' bio-nanotubes that could be used to deliver
a drug or gene to a particular location in the body.
Cardinal Health reported a mixed bag of results in its fourth
quarter, with revenues rising well on the back of rising demand for
its pharmaceutical distribution services, although operating profit
fell 9 per cent, in line with forecasts,...
Altana Chemie, the specialty chemicals unit of German
pharmaceutical and chemicals company Altana, has said it plans to
acquire Eckart for €630 million in cash, in what is the largest
purchase in the company's history.
The world's second largest pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline,
is investing close to €100 million in a new manufacturing facility
in Dresden, Germany, for flu vaccines.
Researchers have discovered that a protein, which acts as a
fundamental inhibitor of cell movement or migration, may be a
likely target for new drug development aimed at decreasing tumour
metastasis, or spread, throughout the body.
The raft of pharmaceutical companies reporting results for the
second quarter of 2005 provided mixed indications as to the state
of the industry. The claim that pipeline product fruition is
beginning to return among the pharmaceutical...
BioFocus and Organon have announced they are to embark on the
second phase of collaborative projects involving key GPCR targets
for therapeutic applications and drug discovery.
Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services (CPS) has announced that it has
been approved by the German Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority for
secondary packaging, warehousing and distribution operations at its
manufacturing site in Freiburg,...
Aegis Therapeutics announced it has entered into a licensing agreement for its patented Intravail drug delivery technology for application to several paediatric therapeutics.
Scientists have admitted that women who take heart drugs are taking
unknown risks after a review of existing data has shown that these
drugs can affect women differently.
A new genome sequencing technique that claims to be 100 times
faster than previous technologies has been developed by 454 Life
Sciences Corporation. The technique is the first new technology for
genome sequencing to be developed and...
The possibilities nanotechnology has in drug and therapeutic
applications was demonstrated once again after researchers were
able to demonstrate the destruction of cancer cells whilst keeping
healthy tissue unharmed.
Dowpharma has announced the addition of an oligonucleotide
synthesizer for its manufacturing of nucleic acid medicines. The
new oligo synthesizer is said to increase speed and flexibility in
producing clinical quantities for customers.
Bruker Biosciences returned back to profitability after a difficult
12 months, posting a modest revenue increase for the second
quarter. This has been driven by the introduction of new and
established technologies including its AXS...
Living Cell Technologies announced a significant reduction in the
size of brain lesions in a Huntington's disease (HD) model after
pre-clinical demonstrated this result using its NeurotrophinCell
(NtCell).
Millipore introduces its latest filter integrity test instrument
that allows biopharmaceutical production to conduct on-site bubble
point, diffusion and HydroCorrSM tests on disk, cartridge and
tangential flow filtration (TFF) filters.
The Hovione Group revealed its yearly figures for 2005, which
revealed that sales grew by 8 per cent. The company's performance
is in contrast to the pharma fine chemicals sector, which between
2002 and 2004 had an average 14...
Surmodics has announced a collaborative partnership with CardioMind
in which SurModics' Encore Drug Delivery Polymer Matrix will be
used in conjunction with CardioMind's low-profile stent system for
the treatment of coronary...
Melbourn Scientific is to launch a new pharmacopeial test facility
providing a range of contract analytical services to the
pharmaceutical industry. The move comes in response to market
demand.
Cambrex has recorded a gain in the second quarter of this year,
with growth in its Bioproducts and Human Health segments. The
performances overshadow the company's troublesome BioPharma
division, indicative of a market for outsourced...
Lab research scientists are being urged to drop their paper
notebooks and go electronic with Infotrievea's new management
software and the company's online research centre, reports Ahmed
ElAmin.
Researchers have discovered a new mechanism that reveals how high
levels of a neurotransmitter exerts its effect on the brain. The
findings provide new research avenues to understand and potentially
manage neurotransmitter-related...
Alfa Laval has announced the first of several new patents in which
a new mixing technology is described that claims to increase
productivity as well as reduce long cycle times - an issue that is
common with current single-use mixing...
Charles River Laboratories saw a double digit boost in fiscal
second quarter revenues with a leap in operating earnings, helped
by its acquisition of Inveresk Research Group, and also to
continuing strong demand for research models...
Freeman Technology introduces a new accessory for its rheometer,
which enables users to extend the range of applications to include
those for which only very small amounts of sample are available.
This includes pharmaceutical actives...
The future for Novartis' experimental cancer drug looked grim after
an ongoing clinical trial suggested that it was unlikely to boost
survival rates of patients with colon cancer. This is the second
setback for the drug this...
The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) and Eiken
Chemicals have announced a collaboration to develop a rapid and
simple test for the detection of active tuberculosis (TB), a
disease that has infected close to a third...
UK processing and packaging machinery specialists, Isopak, have
revealed promising results of its spiral jet mill which is set to
give laboratories and R&D departments significant cost savings
by decreasing the amount of product...
A new device - dubbed an "optoelectronic tweezer," enables
researchers to manipulate large numbers of single cells and
particles using optical images projected onto a glass slide coated
with photoconductive materials. The...
Applied Biosystems Group reported a 40 per cent leap in profits as
the company released its forth quarter 2005 figures. The rise in
sales reflects the increased demand for biosecurity and human
identification products as well as its...
Invitrogen Corporation has acquired the publicly held life sciences
company BioSource International in a transaction totalling
approximately $130 million. This deal adds to Invitrogen's growing
collection of protein and primary...
Cara Therapeutics has announced positive results of a phase 1
clinical trial for its new class of peripherally acting kappa
opioid agonists currently under development for the treatment of
postoperative pain.
MAP Pharmaceuticals has broadened its agreement with Elan Corp to
develop improved formulations of respiratory drugs to include
combination asthma treatments and inhaled drugs for other lung
diseases.
According to a recent survey, the pharma industry spent an
estimated $1.25 billion for each new molecular entity (NME)
approved by the FDA in 2004. The figure represents the second
consecutive year in which this figure has declined...
